Chocolate! Chocolate! Chocolate!

Have you ever seen a cocoa tree? Or even a cocoa pod? Or followed the pod all the way to when it becomes a chocolate bar? Neither had I.

Chocolate is said to be the food of the gods and I can understand why.

So a few weeks ago we took a drive a couple of hours north to beautiful Mission Beach and particularly to Charley’s Chocolate Factory. A tour of the cocoa farm and and chance to taste awarding winning chocolate was just to good to pass up.

This is a beautiful part of north Queensland and the farm is set in a shallow valley not far from the ocean which make it a perfect micro climate to successfully grow cocoa trees.

Cocoa trees only grow in a very limited area within 20° either side of the Equator.

In our part of the world we are subject to severe tropical cyclones which in recent years have decimated local crops. The clever people at Charley’s Chocolate farm have implemented a trellis system, training the trees to grow espaliered to the strong wires. It is hoped that this will save the trees during a violent cyclone. It appears this is having the added benefit of a very long, if not year round, harvest.